Racing wheels may be constructed of spun or forged aluminum or steel. In a drag racing application, the wheel may spin inside the tire due to the horsepower generated by the engine and applied to the tires. To secure the tires to the wheels, the tires are clamped to the rim of the wheel by a beadlock ring, which sandwiches the bead of the tire between the beadlock ring and the wheel rim, secured by bolts.
A beadlock is a feature found on a high-performance racing wheels. The beadlock secures the tire to the wheel to prevent the tire from slipping or rolling off of the wheel. In high-performance drag racing applications, a beadlock is located on both the inside and outside of the wheel.
With an increase in horsepower and speeds has come a phenomenon known as tire shake. The forces exerted by the engine through the drive shaft to the tire and wheel tend to force the tire off the wheel. The tire becomes distorted and causes severe vibration to the vehicle. Another result of increased horsepower and speeds is the tendency of the tire to be thrown off of the wheel by centrifugal force. As the tire spins, the shape of the tire is distorted away from the wheel and the bead of the tire is pulled inwardly off of the bead or rim of the wheel. A beadlock ring holds the bead of the tire in place locked to the rim of the wheel.
As the horsepower and speeds have increased however, the wheel assembly, rim, beadlock ring and fasteners have increased in weight requiring more power to turn the assembly. Because of the geometry of the lever arm of the beadlock, more fasteners and thus more weight is moved to the periphery of the wheel resulting in an increase in the rotational inertia of the wheel assembly. Further, to compensate for the increased forces applied by the more powerful engines, wheel assemblies have become heavier to accommodate the increased loads.
Typical manufacturing of prior art wheels are manufactured in parts with inner and outer parts that are assembled together by bolting or welding together. Welding may include lateral and radial run-out resulting in imbalanced products. Further, assemblies increase the potential and likelihood of leakage, which may result in catastrophic failure of a tire.